Xenophobe [Model 0E85]

39 Years old Arcade Video game Bally Midway Mfg. Co. [Franklin Park, IL, USA]

Xenophobe © 1987 Bally Midway.

A horizontal monitor is split into three sections, one for each of up to three people. Players wander around a space station shooting as many Ridley-Scott-esque aliens as they can before health or time runs out- then it's off to the next space station. There are multiple weapon types, including a duck gun!

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TECHNICAL / MACHINE PICT.

Bally Midway MCR 68k hardware
[No. 0E85]

Main CPU: Motorola 68000 (@ 7.7238 Mhz)
Sound CPU: Motorola 68000 (@ 8 Mhz)
Sound Chips: DAC

Players: 3
Control: 8-way joystick.
Buttons: 3

Machine Picture
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TRIVIA

Xenophobe was released in July 1987.

The word 'Xenophobe' (pronounced 'Zee-no-phobe') is a psychiatric term meaning 'fear of aliens'. Programmer Gary Oglesby contributed this name.

The game earned so much money during first weeks of testing that the programmer was pulled off the game to work on a pinball project.

Xenophobe was a highly original game with a highly original concept. It was a victim of a production scheduling snafu. Due to its production being pushed ahead, a lot of the game's tuning was axed. There are many objects in the game that the player can pick up, but have no use.

Brian Colin & Jeff Nauman originally conceived this game with a tomb-robbing treasure hunting theme, but when programmer Howard Shere was assigned to the project, his love of science fiction prompted the shift to an ALIEN spoof.

Michael Ward holds the official record for this game, on Medium setting, with 2,500,000 points on June 11, 2004.

STAFF

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